Grand Rapids, MI (October 25, 2023) – Art Optical Contact Lens, Inc., a leading provider of custom contact lenses, in partnership with Contamac, recently awarded $750 Specialty Contact Lens Travel Grants to Cornea & Contact Lens Residents, Dr. Vanessa Lin and Dr. Dariela Cardo.
Dr. Lin was awarded her travel grant at the recent American Academy of Optometry meeting in New Orleans where she presented a poster titled: “Management of Post-Refractive Oblate Corneal Shape and Myopic Regression with a Novel Custom-Soft Dual Base Curve Design.“ Dr. Lin is completing her residency at Mission Eye Care in Calgary, Alberta, Canada under the mentorship of Dr. Sheila Morrison, MSc, FAAO, FSLS, with whom she co-authored the poster. In her grant application, Dr. Lin stated “My interest in specialty contact lenses jumpstarted my interest in optometry overall. I’ve been a long-term wearer of orthokeratology lenses for daily vision correction that made such a positive impact on my life that I decided to pursue this field. Currently, I’m completing my Cornea and Contact Lens residency and can confirm that we can help patients in a very rewarding way.”
Dr. Cardo was awarded her travel grant at the Vision by Design Meeting in Chicago last month where she presented a poster she co-authored with Nicholas Gidosh, OD, FAAO, titled: “Optimizing Orthokeratology: Harnessing Eccentricity and Empirical Design for Myopic Astigmatic Patients.“ Currently completing her residency at The Eye Institute of Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, Dr. Cardo discussed the importance of specialty fitting in her application by commenting “Making a difference in the lives of children who are at a disadvantage due to their vision from a very young age and potentially preserving their vision through myopia control, makes this niche and specialty in optometry one that greatly inspires and gratifies me.”
As dedicated supporters of optometric education, Art Optical and Contamac are proud to recognize the work of emerging leaders in the specialty contact lens arena. Current students, residents, and new OD’s with an interest in specialty contact lenses are encouraged to apply for a 2024 travel grant to attend a professional contact lens meeting in the coming year. Additional qualification details and grant applications are available at www.artoptical.com/travelgrant
